5th Funniest Comic Book - Little Lulu

John Stanley's take on Marge Buell's Little Lulu stands up, decades later, as one of the more remarkable pieces of comic book genius that we have seen. Stanley could weave a story like nobody's business.

6th Funniest Comic Book - Justice League Europe

Essentially, Justice League Europe was the same book as Justice League America, only with different characters.

Also, after awhile, with the addition of scripter Gerry Jones, the title took on a slightly more action-y flair than its counterpart, Justice League America.

Still, plotter Keith Giffen continually "brought the funny," especially one of the highlights of his time on the book, which is the issue where the members of the JLE go to take French lessons, but unbeknownest to them, they are in the same French class as the Injustice League (who need to learn how to speak French so as to rob French banks) and a number of spies from various governments sent to keep tabs on the new Justice League.

7th Funniest Comic Book - Plastic Man

Kyle Baker's Plastic Man was a staggering work of comedy, as Baker managed to not only do slapstick humor, but also make cutting jibes at the modern comic book industry, and do this on a regular basis.

Baker also managed to work in a great deal of character humor.

8th Funniest Comic Book - Howard the Duck

Howard the Duck was one of Marvel's most unusual successes, as the book was not a superhero title at all, really (even though it was mostly set in the Marvel universe), but Steve Gerber's post-modern humor style, with a great deal of metafictive elements, combined to form an engrossing, amusing and entertaining narrative.

9th Funniest Comic Book - Groo the Wanderer

This Conan parody utilizes the skills of the great Sergio Aragones to great aplomb, as the fact that Aragones and co-creator Mark Evanier are able to write hilarious and interesting tales based on such a limited premise for over one hundred issues is a testament to both men's skills.

10th Funniest Comic Book - Mad

Mad was most popular as a magazine, but the basic elements of the magazine were evident in the 24 issues of Mad as a comic book. Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, Will Elder, Jack Davis and John Severin were the main creative talent - and just seeing those names listed there, I think you may have an idea of how funny the title was!

11th Funniest Comic Book - Frankenstein Comics

Dick Briefer's humorous take on Frankenstein's monster was a very bold artistic choice, taking a horror character and turning him into a comedic character!!

The result, though, was a number of hilarious stories!

12th Funniest Comic Book - Dork!

Dork! is an anthology of various comic book stories by Evan Dorkin that Slave Labor Graphics put out, and as Evan Dorkin is one of the funniest comic book writers out there, an anthology of his work is quite funny.

13th Funniest Comic Book - The Goon

When I want to let folks know what the Goon is all about, I always turn to a scene where the Goon and his best friend Frankie are having an altercation with some folks, and a fellow tries to reason with Frankie, which appears to be working, until Frankie bellows, "Knife to the eye!" and stabs him in the eye with a big knife.

It's that absurd physical comedy, along with a number of amusing takes on the horror genre (like when the Goon unionizes ghouls), that makes Eric Powell's The Goon so darn special.

14th Funniest Comic Book - Sock Monkey

Tony Millionaire's take on Uncle Gabby and Mr. Cow is just a delightfully absurd twist on children's literature, resulting in a complex, and inspired comedic experience.

15th Funniest Comic Book - Nextwave

Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen's Nextwave is an exceptionally amusing take on modern day superheroes.

Also, any title that can turn the Not Brand Ecch parody characters into a super-villain team has got to be ranked high on this list!!

A question of ethics

A thought just occured to me in the midst of all the arguments over Spider-man's unmasking. One comment was the fact that he had essentially made a living taking photos of himself and this (coupled with the fact that the general public aren't to know what photos were posed/faked) was somewhat unethical.

But what do you think is more unethical:

Peter Parker making a living by selling photos of Spider-man?

OR

Clark Kent making a living by writing about Superman?

16th Funniest Comic Book - Quantum and Woody

Probably the funniest TITLE out of all the books listed, Quantum and Woody, by Christopher Priest and MD Bright was probably just as funny as any of these other titles for its first three issues or so, but soon, Priest seemed to be unwilling to "settle" for just being an absolutely hysterical book, so Quantum and Woody began getting more and more serious, hence its comparatively low ranking on the list.

17th Funniest Comic Book - Deadpool

Like many other writers before him, Joe Kelly soon realized that the greatest freedom a writer sometimes has is writing a character who isn't all THAT popular. With Deadpool, Kelly was able to cut totally loose, and the result was a very humorous title.

During Kelly's run, he also managed to produce one of the funniest individual issues on this list, the classic #11 issue where Deadpool travels back in time...to the pages of an old issue of Amazing Spider-Man!

High concept AND High-larious!!

18th Funniest Comic Book - Sad Sack

The Harvey Comic book series of Sad Sack probably never quite managed to be as funny as George Baker's original comic strip, especially as they were geared towards a much younger audience, but the title was still very humorous.

19th Funniest Comic Book - X-Factor

Peter David had quite the task cut out for him - take a bunch of fairly random X-Characters, put them together on a team, and then try to sell a mutant HUMOR title?

And yet, David managed to pull it off, creating a hilarious superhero title with such minor characters as Madrox and Guido, turning these minor characters into characters so popular that, years later, David was able to revisit the title, bringing the characters back together for the current (much more serious) title, X-Factor.

20th Funniest Comic Book - The Tick

Ben Edlund's goofy take on superheroes is very similar to Flaming Carrot, except in its tone, which is a lot gentler in the ribbing that Edlund gives superheroes.

However wacky they are, though, the characters invented in the series have certainly stood the test of time, especially the Tick's sidekick, Arthur - who is one of the most original characters you are likely to meet.

21st Funniest Comic Book - Simpsons Comics

The Simpsons is one of the funniest adaptation of a popular humor series that I have ever seen.

Most of this can be attributed to the high quality of writers the book has had, from Gail Simone to Chuck Dixon to Ian Boothby, the book has had a lot of funny comic book writers working on it, and the end result is a very amusing comic book.

22nd Funniest Comic Book - She-Hulk

She-Hulk is the rare comic on this list to have two separate, independent funny runs on the title.

First, there was John Byrne's Fourth Wall breaking run on the title, and more recently, there has been Dan Slott's Ally McBeal-esque take on the character.

Both of them were very humorous.

23rd Funniest Comic Book - Barry Ween

Perhaps the best comic work that Judd Winick has ever done, this hilarious series of tales of a cynical boy genius named Barry and his best friend Jeremy and Barry's maybe-sorta-perhaps girlfriend, Sara, was a rollicking fun series, with lots of funny dialogue and funny uses of Barry's genius.

24th Funniest Comic Book - Hitman

Garth Ennis and John McCrea's title, Hitman, has some of the funniest individual issues of the titles on this list, especially the two-parter that has Hitman and his friends taking on the amphibious zombie inhabitants of an aquarium.

However, the title would also go strictly grim and serious for long stretches at a time. That was enough to push the title back on the list.

25th Funniest Comic Book - Flaming Carrot

Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot is an absurdist take on the superhero genre, with a strong emphasis on the absurd.

The comic features many parodies of superheroes, but still manages to tell interesting stories at the same time.

TWO, COUNT 'EM TWO LISTS!

Here ya go, folks!

I will now count down, first, the Twenty-Five Funniest Comic Books of All-Time (that had at least 10 issues) and THEN, the Twenty-Five Most Serious Superheroes of All-Time!!!

Enjoy!!

Monday Challenge - Shuffle Up and Deal!

If all the members of the Justice League got together and had a poker tournament (no outright cheating allowed) - who would win?

Batman (because he always wins)?

Green Arrow (gambling seems to be his thing)?

Superman (super-intelligence)?

Wonder Woman (good judge of character - can tell if you are bluffing)?

Who?

Best Name Change!

Quite often, people tend to have a problem when comic book characters change their name. Usually, the new name is not as good as the old name. But occasionally, the name change is a good one.

To wit, Shadowcat is a lot better of a name than Ariel or Sprite.

What, though, do you think was the BEST name change in comics?

Who is it? for 10/7

Remember, tell me who it is and on what number clue you figured it out!!

1. This creator is currently retired.
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2. This creator drew the Batman comic strip for a number of years.
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3. This creator worked for the military during World War II illustrating training manuals and war posters.
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4. This creator drew the first appearance of the Legion of Superheroes.
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5. This creator co-created Supergirl.

Who is it?

Best Comic Book Teacher

There have been plenty of characters in comics who were teachers, but who is the BEST one, do you think?

Miss Grundy?

Jefferson Pierce?

Helena Bertenilli?

Ray Palmer?

Ryan Choi?

What books this comic week were free of snark for you?

Which books that were released did you have absolutely no snark for this week?

I had zero snark for Doctor Strange: Blood Oath, from Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin.

I'm a huge Martin fan, and he did not disappoint.

Vaughan, meanwhile, provides us a very nice Dr. Strange tale, without feeling the need to re-invent the wheel.

How about you folks?

Snark Free Cover Gallery - Brian Bolland

Who's Yer Fav'rit....

Warrior Three?

Fandral, Hogun or Volstagg?

Monday Challenge - Kitty Pryde vs. Doc Samson

Who is more knowledgeable about the Jewish religion?

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! ANSWERS!

Here they are!!

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day One: Graham Nolan

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day Two: Dan Jurgens

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day Three: Al Milgrom

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day Four: Bill Wray

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day Five: Keith Giffen

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day Six: Eric Shanower

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day Seven: Rick Veitch

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day Eight: Mike Manley

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day Nine: Dave Ross

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day Ten: Erik Larsen

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day Eleven: Paul Ryan

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Day Twelve: Bruce Timm

World's Greatest Artist Identification Game! - Final Day!: Ron Frenz